


The Heart’s Hearth

by BoisterousBattlecat



Series: FFVII Rare Pair Week 2020 [4]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: (though it doesn't really come into play here), Cheesy Lines, Cuddling, Establishing boundaries, Final Fantasy VII Rare Pair Week 2020, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Power Imbalance, Prompt Fic, Summon Kuja AU, me vs ao3's html
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:35:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22837924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BoisterousBattlecat/pseuds/BoisterousBattlecat
Summary: “Hot springs,” Kuja says, clutching one end of the map through appallingly unfashionable mittens, “you summon me to this godsforsaken hellhole and neglect to visit or even mention the hot springs?”“It’s not that cold,” Sephiroth says from his side, the shirtless bastard. “You can endure it.”“It hurts to breathe Sephiroth.”
Relationships: Kuja (Final Fantasy IX)/Sephiroth (Compilation of FFVII)
Series: FFVII Rare Pair Week 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1636498
Kudos: 18
Collections: Final Fantasy VII Rare Pair Week





	The Heart’s Hearth

**Author's Note:**

> This was just supposed to be some fluffy hot spring relaxation but then I got inspired
> 
> Prompt:  
>  **Closeness** : cuddles, kisses, shared spaces, companionable silences

“Hot springs,” Kuja says, clutching one end of the map through appallingly unfashionable mittens, “you summon me to this godsforsaken hellhole and neglect to visit or even mention the hot springs?”

“It’s not that cold,” Sephiroth says from his side, the shirtless bastard. “You can endure it.”

“ _ It hurts to breathe Sephiroth _ .”

Sephiroth tilts his head and looks down at him. Then, he waves his hand just in front of Kuja’s nose. “How?” He squints. “Shouldn’t the clothes I gave you prevent that?”

Kuja catches his wrist and steers it away from his face (or more accurately, the scarf covering his face). He means to let go, but he can feel Sephiroth’s body heat even through the mittens. He briefly flusters considering the prospect of embracing the other. “Because it  _ obviously  _ doesn’t stop being cold when you inspire,” he quickly says. “Now can we  _ please  _ visit somewhere warm?”

“The most efficient method would be to finish my mission quickly,” Sephiroth points out. “Or if you absolutely couldn’t stand being outside, simply dismissing you.”

“I  _ like _ existing, thank you,” Kuja says, and stops holding Sephiroth’s wrist. The hand returns to his shoulder. “No, I think I deserve some luxury in return for fighting all those monsters for you.”

“I...” Sephiroth’s head cocks slightly and his hair shifts like a waterfall, “I suppose a few hour’s delay won’t hurt Shinra  _ too _ much.”

“ _ Exactly _ !”

This is the first time Sephiroth has seen Kuja strip. It’s less efficient than it should be, each removal accompanied by stretching and bending, and Sephiroth wonders if it’s out of habit or for him. He blinks when Kuja removes his pants to expose a tail, and realizes why Kuja never wore underwear. Once he’s done, Kuja gingerly touches the water with an arched foot, recoiling at first contact, before plunging himself in.

Kuja makes a contented sighing noise, keeping most of his torso above water and placing his arms on the rocks. Sephiroth wonders if this is how Wutaians enjoyed their onsen as well. He starts to walk away so he won’t stare at Kuja’s nipples but as he starts to turn on his heel Kuja speaks. “Not going to join? It’s just as good as I remember.”

Sephiroth keeps his eyes on the horizon. “The monsters here are strong enough to damage me if I was taken off guard.”

“Ah,” Kuja groans, “implying I couldn’t annihilate them with Ultima? What a shock, to discover you’ve been wasting your mana on me all along.” He absently taps a finger on the stone; he’s going to complain about his nails later. “You ought to indulge yourself, ‘for life is but a fleeting whisper.’” Sephiroth tightens his mouth, hesitant. “Sephiroth!”

That does it for his resolve. He mentally apologizes to Wutai. He carefully undresses, making sure to fold each and every article of clothing into a rectangle. “...you’re not a waste.” He shouldn’t be risking his health standing out in the cold he can’t feel any longer than he should, but he doesn’t want to move. “I don’t regret summoning you for non-combat purposes.” He should, it’s a waste of resources, nothing but a facsimile of what he had with Genesis, but every time he tries to stop he can’t.

Water splashes. “...my apologies.” Footsteps sound from behind him. “I suppose old habits are hard to break. I should remember it’s not like that. After all, we’re friends.” Slowly, Sephiroth turns around. Kuja stands before him, naked as the day he was born, hand stretched out to him. Sephiroth takes it, takes Kuja, hugs him tightly as tears leak from his eyes. Kuja stumbles back, starts to say something, but then changes it to “now, now,” as he pats his back.

He’s read about it, but he’s never felt warmth when touching other people, Shinra-made enhancements rendering his body temperature too hot in comparison. Still, Sephiroth half-deludes himself into thinking he can feel it. Kuja’s breathing pulses against his chest, and he never wants to let go of this moment. His hand touches Kuja’s delicate shoulder bones and briefly runs down them before he stops himself. Kuja’s tail, erect at first, slowly starts flicking back and forth.

Finally, after what seems like an eternity but was only a few minutes, he ends the embrace. Kuja steps back, looking down at his torso, hands leaning on his shoulders. “That felt as good as I thought it would,” Kuja says, “but you need to give more some more warning next time.”

“I’m sorry,” Sephiroth says, wondering if something like this was how he drove away Genesis and Angeal, “I…” He forces himself to stop looking at the ground. “I want you.”  _ To be my friend, to be my lover, to be my haven… _

“If it’s my virginity, I’m afraid I’ve already surrendered it,” Kuja says. Sephiroth tenses, but the other man is smiling. Their eyes meet, Kuja’s perfectly framed by his eyelashes, and Sephiroth swears he could fall into them. “Do you desire to kiss?”

Sephiroth’s voice has stopped working, so he gives a curt nod instead. This time, it’s Kuja who pulls him in.

“You know, the minerals are good for your skin,” Kuja says, resting his head on Sephiroth’s shoulder as the other strokes his hair. He can’t decide what he likes more, Sephiroth or the hot spring. Well, that’s a lie. It’s definitely Sephiroth.

“Mm,” Sephiroth acknowledges, “I don’t see why you’d need it.” Kuja opens his mouth to lecture about the importance of always looking your best. “You already look perfect.”

Kuja drags himself closer to Sephiroth, letting the other’s mouth touch his hair. “When have I not?” He strokes the other’s arm, feeling the muscles that let him cut down dragons with a single strike. “I spend almost an hour on my morning routine every day, attended classes, buy only the finest makeup, and here you’re conspiring to ruin me with laugh lines.”

“Sorry,” Sephiroth says, looking away from him.

“Don’t be, it was a joke.” Sephiroth’s hand pulls on his hair a touch too hard and he flinches. Sephiroth looks at him, eyes wide, and retracts his hand. “Ah,” Kuja says, uncertain of how to reassure him, “it felt nice, please don’t stop because of an accident,” no, that’s not it, “nevermind, what I ought to say is if… something discomforts you, I’ll understand. I know I can be a bit insistent at times, but I don’t wish to make you uncomfortable.”

Sephiroth looks down at the opaque water, swallows. “But I want… Thank you.” They sit separately in silence for a minute. Then, Sephiroth speaks. “Hot springs,” he says, carefully pronouncing each word, “you implied you’ve been to them before?”

Kuja looks up at the grey sky. “Treno had bathhouses with hot tubs, but no volcanism. There was a resort, though, nearer the mountains, and I managed to free enough time in my schedule to visit once. It was a wonderful experience. I meant to visit again, after I killed Garland, but...” He sighs and pushes his hair back. “Alas, death came for me first.”

“Mm,” Sephiroth nods, still averting his eyes, “would you call it an onsen?” His face isn’t as expressionless as it is when he’s interacting with Shrina or strangers, but it’s still hard to read it.

Kuja considers sitting up before deciding that it’d seem too cold. “I don’t know what that word means.”

“It was a part of Wutai’s culture.” Where Sephiroth became known as a hero.

“Oh.” Kuja says, awkwardly, just as certain that there’s a backstory to this as he is that asking Sephiroth for exposition would be rude. “Do you want to leave?”

Sephiroth’s face stays a mask as he examines his fingernails. “...I’d like to bathe a little longer.” Sephiroth’s hand brushes into his under the water, and Kuja catches it with his pinky. Sephiroth smiles, as small as a budding flower. “With you.”

“Who wouldn’t,” Kuja says, and lets himself sink deeper into the water, into Sephiroth’s lap.

A little longer, as it turned out, was long enough for the day to visibly darken. “...we should probably finish the mission now,” Sephiroth slowly says, hand delving deeper in Kuja’s hair. Before they accuse him of having defected.

Kuja closes his eyes and then nods, causing his feather to brush against Sephiroth’s nose in a vaguely ticklish fashion. “Alright.”

Sephiroth blinks, surprised and a little disappointed. “You’re not going to insist on staying here longer?”

Kuja looks up at him and smiles radiantly. “How can I remember the cold when I’m this warm?”

It steals the breath from his lungs. “You can’t,” Sephiroth finally says, and Kuja laughs and nuzzles his nose in his cheek.

**Author's Note:**

> For some reason Treno just really strikes me as the sort of place to have bathhouses.
> 
> Kuja… is just the sort to be all dramatic all the time. He likes imagining his life as a play. 
> 
> I just tend to imagine Kuja as the sort of person who likes the aesthetics of being neat but who in actually spends a hour or two making everything look just right before gradually ruining it with use, aside from a few weird hang-ups (like never using bookmarks or, you savage, leaving the book splayed out upside down, lest it ruin how smooth the book’s pages feel when it’s closed). If he grew up in a modern AU he would absolutely insist on brushing his teeth after every meal since it’d feel dirty otherwise.
> 
> WoG, what Kuja was going to say was something kind of snarky on instinct like “so even the perfect Soldier needs embracing”, but he’s capable of reading when it’s appropriate and not appropriate.
> 
> Sephiroth really needs friends other than Kuja, and Kuja needs the ability to manifest by himself. Maybe I’ll get around to it if I write more in this AU.


End file.
